Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 126 Dispute
Thank you for taking care of me.

The Speaker of the Raven did not refuse the lord's offer. He had lived in Uppsala for more than ten years and was familiar with the ways of his companions. He knew that caution was never a bad thing.

In the following days, Vig was busy reviewing the legal provisions and took the time to make some suggestions to the Stirlingshire railcars until late April when he received a letter from the Sheriff of Orkney.

"The Shetland Islands refuse to submit? How dare they!"

Sailing from Northern Europe to Britain, the northern route is relatively safe. Starting from Bergen on the west coast of Norway, one can sail west to the Shetland Islands, then south to the Orkney Islands, and further south to Scotland.

The Shetland Islands are about 200 kilometers from Scotland and are located in the North Sea fishing grounds, which are suitable for fishing.

According to last year's trade agreement, Viggo was required to pay Gunnar pig iron, salted fish, tin, and furs in exchange for high-quality Frankish warhorses.

Salted fish accounts for nearly 40% of the market share.

According to the medieval church classification, fish were cold-blooded animals and not considered "meat." Therefore, during Lent, fish was the only legal source of animal protein, leading to a high demand for salted fish in Western Europe.

Taking into account the Shetland Islands' fisheries tax and potential shipbuilding orders, Vig wrote back to the Orkney County Sheriff, urging him to resolve the matter as soon as possible.

In early May, Vig received bad news: the messenger sent by the Sheriff of Orkney had been killed by the locals.

"This is outrageous! How dare you kill my men?"

Sensing her husband's anger, Helgeve leaned over and glanced at the letter. "The Shetland Islands are sparsely populated, and the local chiefs are taking a hard line. I'm worried that someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes."

Vig spread out a map; to the northwest of the Shetland Islands was Iceland, and to the east was Bergen.

The Icelandic lord Bjorn had a good relationship with him, and all supplies such as food, ironware, timber, and wine were provided by Tynburg. Whether from an emotional point of view or from a practical point of view, Bjorn had no reason to do such a thing.

He turned his gaze to the west coast of Norway, staring at the black dot representing Bergen.

“I’m 90% sure that this matter is inextricably linked to Oher (the lord of Bergen). Oh well, I have a score to settle with him anyway.”

The old grudge between the two originated four years ago (846 AD).

King Eric, heeding the advice of some merchants, resolved to emulate the great king Charlemagne and achieve his own grand ambitions. After equipping himself with weapons, he campaigned against settlements throughout Norway, and Wieg took the opportunity to sell his armaments, with Bergen purchasing the largest share.

However, after selling the arms, Vig did not receive the final payment for a long time. He sent messengers to Bergen many times to collect the debt, but the reply was always something like, "I'm short of money right now, I'll do it next time."

When the war ended, the lord of Bergen simply reneged on his debt, claiming that the weapons sold by Vig were of poor quality, including the yew bows which had insufficient range, the arrow fletchings which were of poor quality, and the round shields which could not withstand the blows of two-handed axes.

Ultimately, he even blamed Vig for the defeat and demanded a large sum of compensation.

In the years that followed, Viggo became embroiled in several wars, and the memory gradually faded from his mind. Now, with the old story being brought up again, his anger has been reignited.

Seeing her husband's expression, Helgef knew he was plotting murder. "Nominally, the Lord of Bergen is Eric's vassal. Before taking action, we should write a letter to Eric first."

“No good!” Vig paced back and forth in the study. “Eric is greedy and cowardly. If we let him make the decision, the old man will surely take over the Shetland Islands. It would be better to strike first and take care of that chief and the Bergen lord in one fell swoop. I want to see if Eric dares to go to war with me.”

Her husband's mind was made up. Harriet yawned and headed to the bedroom. Now that she was pregnant again, she had much less energy and didn't have time to stay up all night with him.

"Phew, I'm really sleepy. You sleep with our son tonight, and remember to avoid talking nonsense to him."

"I don't have time. I don't plan to sleep tonight. I need to gather the troops and prepare the weapons. We'll set sail early tomorrow morning."

Currently, most nobles do not have a standing army and rely on only a few dozen guards to maintain appearances. Vig plans to launch a surprise attack on Bergen as quickly as possible. If they delay for even one more day, the local lord may be able to gather more troops.

Coincidentally, the Tyneburg shipyard's first Kirk had recently completed its sea trials. She had loaded pickled fish and made a round trip to Frank without any problems, making her suitable as Viggo's flagship.

After a busy night, Vig led fifty shield guards aboard the Kirk ship, the Mackerel.

While the sailors were still unloading supplies, Vig took a quick look around. The Cork was the same size as the Gothenburg, 25 meters long, 6 meters wide, with a mast 15 meters high. It had a huge square wool canvas hanging from it. It was fast with the wind, but against the wind, the crew had to row with oars. There were twelve oar holes on each side.

Down to the lower deck, there were many wooden barrels piled up, and the salty, fishy smell mixed with the stench of pickled herring hit you. Passengers' sleeping bags were tightly packed on both sides of the passageway, and due to limited space, some people even had to sleep on the deck.

As a lord, Vig didn't need to squeeze into the dark and damp lower deck; he naturally moved into the captain's cabin at the stern, where the swaying hammock would be his bed for the next few days.

Returning to the deck, a long-handled wooden rudder was placed on the stern deck to control the stern rudder below the ship.

In Vig's memory, later three-masted sailing ships used wheel rudders, but unfortunately he did not have detailed memories of this, otherwise the maneuverability of the Mackerel would have been further improved.

In addition, a small wooden superstructure (similar to a watchtower) was located at the stern, which could accommodate four archers to fire down on the enemy during battle.

Half an hour later, the supplies were inventoried, and the captain requested to set sail, to which Vig nodded in agreement.

"Weigh anchor!"

At the captain's command, two crew members worked together to turn the winch, raising the heavy anchor from the seabed. At the same time, the oarsmen rowed carefully, propelling the Mackerel away from the pier.

Upon reaching the center of the river, the Kirk hoisted its sails and gradually disappeared from the sight of the people on the dock.

After two days, the Mackerel, leading dozens of Viking longships, docked in Edinburgh. Vig drew a total of 600 mountain infantrymen from Edinburgh and Stirling, and then drew another 100 garrison troops from Orkney, bringing the total number, including the sailors, to exactly 1,000.

Following a northeasterly course, the fleet reached the main island of the Shetland Islands, a place dotted with jagged fjords, barren soil, sparse trees, and a few sheep scattered on the hillsides.

"Gather the locals; I have a question for them."

Following the lord's orders, the soldiers drove over four hundred civilians to gather at the dock. Upon seeing the infamous Black Serpent banner, the locals instantly recognized the newcomers and dared not offer the slightest resistance.

(End of this chapter)